Nazareth: Hard Rockin', Bluesy, and Fun

“Don’t analyze me, sacrifice me;

Please don’t Judas me.”
--Nazareth from the song “Please Don’t Judas Me;” from the LP Hair of the Dog, 1975.

Having snuffed my third Erdinger Oktoberfest Weizen, I decided to add some of my favorite albums to my IPOD. I stopped after Hair of the Dog and Loud ‘N’ Proud and decided to add the entire catalogue of Nazareth CD’s to the IPOD rotation.

I fell in love with this band in 1978 as a freshman in high school who bought Hair Of The Dog. My favorite songs on that classic LP were not the hits. I thought Miss Misery and Changin’ Times were fantastic; and Don’t Judas Me was unexplored territory of blues, and hard rock for me. Thirty years later, it still is and gives me goosebumps.

I still remember jamming Changin’ Times with Will Parks in his ’75 Ford Maverick down the streets of Ottawa, Illinois on the eight track player that was probably worth more than that car.

So tonight I played a greatest hits package while I added the Nazareth collection to my “Heavy Rotation.”

So many great albums from Nazareth, that one needs to remind one’s self how utterly unfair Rolling Stones Record Guide’s snobby writers were in the late 1970s when they dismissed the band as dog food.

I offer a safely positive primer of the band.

The first and most important album to own is Hair of the Dog. There is not a bad song in the lot. Plus, it shows the incredible grind of vocals of Dan McCafferty. Adding to his contributions is one of the most underrated rhythm sections known to man in drummer Darrell Sweet and bassist Pete Agnew. Manny Charlton is featured as one of rock’s most ignored but talented guitarists. His slice of hard rock grooves are simply pleasure to hear. Manny can mix the blues with rock, with rhythm and blues, and then turn a tuneful ear to a ballad.

No Mean City is one of my personal favorites that should be owned by any hard rock/metal enthusiast. Other than hits of Star, May The Sun Shine, and No Mean City, the album is a fine mix of ballads and grinding rock.

Loud ‘N’ Proud (an album excellently reviewed by Martin Popoff in his 1975 Ye Olde Metal book—don’t you think you should hit the link and order his stuff by now?) is one of the 1970’s best. Their cover of Joni Mitchell’s This Flight Tonight is worth the price of admission, but added to it is Go Down Fighting and Not Faking It and the classic rock tones of Turn On Receiver.

A Normal standout from college and beyond, Jeff, former manager of Mother Murphy’s Rock Emporium, and now owner of North Street Records told me once, “I love Razamanaz, and stopped buying Nazareth after it because it was so perfect.” I would add the album is timeless. The title track kicks, as well as Alcatraz, Vigilante Man, Too Bad Too Sad, and Broke Down Angel.

I would also recommend Malice In Wonderland that contains the classic Holiday and the blues-driven Heart’s Grown Cold. Talkin’ To One Of The Boys is fun as is Big Boy. This is the album that I think shows a slight decline, but it holds to the test of time.

The next that should be a part of your collection is Close Enough To Rock ‘N’ Roll. The epic, multi-layer Close Enough mini-opera is mind blowing to say the least. Following it with the bluesy Homesick Again and the hit ballad/rocker Carry Out Feelings, and Nazareth has perfect a formula of success. It really is an underrated album.

Rampant, Play ‘N’ The Game, and Expect No Mercy round out the classic Nazareth years. Their latter albums are hit and miss at times, but always contain enough hard rock to be influential and enough blues to be reminiscent of the past.

A&M put out a near-perfect greatest hits that would be a great introduction of the “hits.” Give it a taste, and I promise “dog food” is not on the m

Savatage: The Greatest Metal Band You Have Never Heard

“When the crowds are gone,

And I'm all alone,

Playing a final song…

Now that the lights are gone,

Turn them on again;

One more time for me my friend;

Turn them on again;

I never wanted to know,

Never wanted to see,

I wasted my time till time wasted me,

Never wanted to go,

Always wanted to stay;

Cause the person I am are the parts that I play.

So I play and I plan,

And hope and I scheme…

To the lure of a night…

Filled with unfinished dreams;

And I'm holding on tight,

To a world gone astray,
As they charge me for years…

I can no longer pay.

And the lights;

Turn them off my friend,

And the ghosts,

Well just let them in;

Cause in the dark,

It's easier to see.”

--Jon Oliva of Savatage from When The Crowds Are Gone from the album Gutter Ballet, 1989.

A band I have been recently playing and replaying on the IPod is Savatage. Whereas their earlier efforts may be more “Metal/Hard Rock”-esque; the middle to late period of concept albums are among my favorites. Savatage ripped out a series of great albums from Gutter Ballet to Edge of Thorns to Hall Of Mountain Kings to Streets toWake of Magellan to Dead Winter Dead.

Their music has a throaty sound and some of the flashiest Guitar work and pianos ever.

Started by the Oliva brothers Criss on guitars and Jon on keyboards and vocals, the band emerged and changed as the times did—staying with their craft and their band when fame and fortune would have certainly been more appealing with other groups doing other types of songs.

Savatage stayed with their vision. The vision nearly ended when Cris Oliva died in an auto accident as a drunk driver hit him and tragically ended his life; but brother Jon and the band continued on in memory of their fallen bandmate: and never did they change that wonderful sound and that fantastic vision.

Savatage have been recording since the early 1980s with their colossal debut Sirens.

And sadly, most who travel here have never heard their wonderful, mood altering and exciting music.

Well…kind of.

You may have heard of or seen the Trans Siberian Orchestra. That thundering sound found its roots in Savatage and can be mostly shown on Dead Winter Dead.

The formula found a more sophisticated audience with a more affluent sounding name of the band by possibly using the word orchestra in the title.

This is truly classic metal with a symphonic feel. The stories are told from the street about hard working people and their everyday lives. The band mixes classical elements and contours them with one of the most underrated guitar sounds in the history of rock and Jon Oliva’s fantastically strained vocal fervor.

If I could make music, it really would be this. I plan on doing some reviews of their albums as time goes on. This entry is an opening for the band--a primer or introduction, if you will.

I highly recommend Gutter Ballet, Hall of the Mountain King, and Wake of Magellan. The song “When the Crowds Are Gone” is sheer majesty and magic.

Alice Cooper Concert Review From Bloomington, Illinois August 21, 2008: Along Came Alice

“Told her that I came from Detroit city,
And I played guitar in a long haired rock and roll band.She asked me why the singer's name was ‘Alice…’
I said, ‘Listen baby you really wouldn't understand.’And I said, ‘Baby if you wanna be my lover,
You better take me home…'Cause it's a long long way to paradise
And I'm still on my own on my own.’”

--Alice Cooper from the song, “Be My Lover” from the LP Killer 1971.



Thursday evening was a coming home of sorts for me, as I saw the first artist I really “discovered” as a kid. Alice Cooper played the Bloomington, Illinois Cingular Colliseum for a two-hour and ten minute show.

In a word: fantastic.

Less supportive of the Along Came a Spider new CD, this was a greatest hits show. Alice performed two tracks from Along Came A Spider as the band plowed through two very refined versions of Wake the Dead and Vengeance is Mine, that sounded like they were in league with the Alice Cooper classics.

The band opened with No More Mr. Nice Guy, and the greatest grew from there. Hitting the high points of his career Alice Cooper performed Under My Wheels, Desperado, Is It My Body, Be My Lover, Dirty Diamonds, Lost In America, Raise Your Fist, I'm Eighteen, Hey Stoopid, Department of Youth, and so many more. It was almost like living through the seventies all over, skipping the eighties, and waking up in the late nineties and early part of the century.

The “theatrical” part of the show included almost the full version of the Welcome To My Nightmare album (and some nods to Billion Dollar Babies cuts), complete with the ghouls and demons on stage that have haunted Alice throughout his life. Along Came a Spider takes the character of Steven from the Welcome To My Nightmare album and shows him as a psychotic killer/mass murderer who acts as a Spider of sorts that spins a web of various colors of silks to store his women victims as he builds a macabre “spider” of the female victims’ remains: except he falls in love with one of the victims which leads him to the paths of fear, guilt, and ultimately redemption.

This portion of the show included such classics as Welcome To My Nightmare, Steven, Only Women Bleed, Cold Ethel, Sick Things, I Love The Dead, and others in the story. Too be honest, my date Jen thought this was a bit over the top, as the acting out of various “tortures” of mankind struck her as a bit unnecessary. I reminded her it was an Alice Cooper show, but unfamiliar folks “Just really wouldn’t understand” (see lyrics above).

The show concluded with classics like Billion Dollar Babies and School's Out and an encore that contained Poison, Elected and more. Highlight of the end of the show was the Obama vs. McCain vs. Bush “characters” battling it out for control for the country during the song Elected: none of which understood that on this stage, Alice Cooper is the President and he rules with an iron fist.

I really have not been to a pure rock show for years, so this was a healthy outlet for my missing-in-action pent-up aggression to witness a great classic band jam out with complete understanding of what the audience wanted to see.

For me, it was a return to form of the music I loved when I was fifteen and continue to love at forty-four. Thanks Alice, now go scare the Hell out of another town. You have always been the greatest shock rocker, and at sixty, you look better than ever.

If Batman Could Play Metal: The Dark Knight

More Music next week, but considering this is opening weekend for the Greatest Movie of the Summer: The Dark Knight, I thought the picture was appropriate. Oh and go check out my personal blog: http://batfan63.blogspot.com/2008/07/real-dark-knight.html

for my Batman The Dark Knight review. You'll be glad you did.

A Late Night With Heavy: The Story of Metal

“Taking a Ride On Heavy Metal…”


My slightly distraught Maine Coon is lying against my arm, peering up at me with his deep eyes. The poor boy is tired because he sat up until 2:00 AM with me to watch the rerun and four hours of fun that was VH1’s documentary “Heavy: The Story of Metal” last evening/early this morning. Some of the greatest bands were covered; some great interviews with movers and shakers, musicians, journalists, and even some wannabes of the Heavy Metal scene.

I loved the first, second, and fourth installment of the four hour show, but I am not a fan of the Hair Metal/Glam metal Los Angeles 1980s scene at all. David Mustaine of Megadeth said it best, “GLAM meant Gay LA Metal to me.” Correct.

And I know Sebastian Bach is not the most “heavy” of the artists, but he is funny as can be and I enjoy his snippets. I think Sabo gives great interviews and Zak Wylde is fantastic; along with the guys from Slayer.

Dee Snyder is fun as well, and one can see his intellect; but we all know (and Dee does as well) that his group would never be compared with the likes of Priest and Sabbath. He is more Glam.

It is nice to have all members of Sabbath interview, well except Bill Ward, and it is apparent in this show that Ronnie James Dio has an ego problem, as does Lars Ulrich, Alice Cooper, and the guys from Quiet Riot and Ratt.. Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue comes off as very intelligent and interesting (even though I hate that band) and Tommy Lee comes off as a scumbag (which is why I hate that band—well that and their music blows).

Still, like ‘em or love ‘em; they are all there to put their story on the screen to be dissected.

As any good fan of metal watches, check out the Rob Zombie interviews. That guy and the guys from Slipknot really come off well. I think Rob Zombie may just be the most intelligent of these artists; either him or Tony Iommi.

Still there are some very entertaining moments from the show that crack me up.

Here is one with “the Cherry Pie Guy” Jani Lane


And since I cannot show the whole show, I thought I would give you three of my favorite videos from three of the best bands in the genre.

Black Sabbath performing Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath:



Judas Priest performing Breaking The Law:


Iron Maiden performing Hallowed Be Thy Name:


Enjoy!

Sabotage: Black Sabbath's Last Hurrah

“I’m really digging schizophrenia the best of the earth;

I’ve seized my soul in the fires of Hell.

Peace of mind eluded me, but now its all mine;

I simply try, but he wants me to fail.

Feel it slipping away, slipping in tomorrow…

Now I’ve found my happiness, providence of sorrow.”

--Black Sabbath from the song “Megalomania” from the album Sabotage, 1975.



I have two favorite Black Sabbath albums. One is the one I mentioned last year, Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath. The other is Sabotage. Sabotage contains three of my favorite Sabbath songs: Megalomania, Symptom of the Universe, and Thrill Of It All. The last one many may not recognize, but I think it is one of their best.

The album also contains Hole In The Sky, Don’t Start (Too Late), the eerie Supertzar, the ‘pseudo-hit’ Am I Going Insane (Radio), and concludes with the powerful The Writ.

This is Ozzy’s last hurrah with the band, even though he recorded two forgettable albums with the Sabbath line up of Tony Iomini, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward. On this one, Ozzy’s voice is incredible and the band plays their brand of thunderous metal.

To be frank, Megalomania has a special place in my heart as among the quintessential songs that represent Heavy Metal: great lyrics, a powerful guitar, a strong voice, and a thudding bass and drum.

Something was lost by Black Sabbath after this album. I am not sure if the formula ran dry, the drugs ran too rapid, of the moment was simply lost, but the band fell on the weight of their own legacy for a few years. Perhaps the Ronnie James Dio years were a necessary break for the band, as Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules were so much better than Never Say Die and Technical Ecstasy.

This is not their heaviest album, but Sabotage is certainly their most melodic. Added to the musical accomplishments, they seem to really define the genre of Heavy Metal and the changes that were starting to ensue in the Hard Rock legacy that they set forth. Certainly by this point, the band understood their contributions and made this one their swansong.

Like Led Zeppelin’s Achilles Last Stand, Megalomania stood out as the moment that harkens back to their past while The Writ showed what the future could have been.

The latter two Ozzy albums either were misguided attempts to gain an audience that was not interested in Sabbath or they were poorly suggested ideas from management. It matters not, as Sabbath muddled through a few years of sad remnants of their past.

I always felt each Sabbath album moved forward for the band as they evolved. Sabotage was the final step in the evolution of metal and set the precedent of what could be described as the greatness of the level of musical accomplishment.

Iron Maiden Rocks The BBC

“Somebody please tell me that I’m dreaming,

Its not so easy to stop from screaming.

But words escape me when I try to speak,

Tears they flow but why am I crying.

After all I am not afraid of dying,

Don’t believe that there is never an end.

As the guards march me out to the courtyard,

Someone calls from a cell, ‘God be with you…’

If there’s a God, then why has he let me die?”

--Steve Harris of Iron Maiden from the song “Hallowed Be Thy Name” from the album The Number of the Beast 1982.



Well it has been a while.

Workloads, other hang-ups, lifestyle changes with women (yeah—all those women—right), and the hustle and bustle of the real world (and road rules and other insipid shows) have slowed me down.

But summer’s here and the time is right for rockin’ in the heat.

I plan on updating my CD list in the near future in case we have any traders out there. I plan on reviewing the latest and greatest Ye Olde Metal book by Martin Popoff and I will be adding a slight criticism of my Metal friend (uh-oh!) but it is an honest trifle to be honest. Martin has thick skin.

Over the last six weeks or so, I have rediscovered my enjoyment of the Kings of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) Iron Maiden.

Via the joys of Amazon, I snagged what I consider one of the best live albums and certainly my favorite live album of Iron Maiden: The BBC Archives. Originally this was part of the Eddie Archives along with the B-Sides and Live From Hammersmith. Each was a two disk set; and I own all six now. Lots of researching and scouring for these as the Eddie Archives is a long out of print collection.

The first disk contains four tracks from the Paul Di’Anno years from the BBC Radio 1 Friday Rock Show from November 14, 1979. I like Di’Anno’s voice quite a bit. His versions of Phantom of the Opera (not on this disk) are nothing short of incredible. Running Free kicks from the set.

The rest of the disk contains the BBC production of the reading Festival from August 28, 1982 featuring Bruce Dickinson on vocals. This was from the Number of the Beast Tour. This is the BEST live set and best versions of Dickinson’s live repertoire ever recorded. Amazingly he treats the form Di’Anno songs (The Prisoner, Wrathchild) with as much care as he does the then-new material of Hallowed Be Thy Name (their greatest song) and Number of the Beast. The Maiden classic album is well-represented as Children of the Damned (humorous intro by Dickinson), 22 Acacia Avenue and Run To The Hills are played with a new-found pulse and glory.

Disk two features an earlier version of the Reading Festival from August 24, 1980 with Di’Anno shredding through such Maiden classics as Remember Tomorrow, Iron Maiden, and Prowler (and again oddly no Phantom of the Opera even though Dickinson owns the song on the previous disk).

Disk two closes with the highlights from the Donington Monster of Rock Festival from August 20, 1988. Highlights include The Trooper, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, and Iron Maiden.

Since Maiden has been one of the rare bands that can transfer their complex studio moments so passionately on stage in the live forum, one cannot but be amazed at their ability to play as a band. Clever lyrics, a nod and a wink to the culture of metal, and incredible musicianship make them an unstoppable unit.

This one simply kicks their careers into another gear, for any who may have doubted their ability.